Cochem and the goings on

Since October, we've had 20 diagnosed cases of strep infections of one sort or another in our family. That's not including ear infections, dental work, or common viral infections. I know it's 20 exactly because every time we go to the doctor, I have to pay the bill, fill out an insurance claim, and track it closely to make sure that I get paid, and get paid correctly.

But that's not the news!

The news is that I got my orders and we've reserved our plane tickets to come home! Woo hoo! The paperwork burden to get everybody moved is extremely high. I can't believe that Soldiers do it every three years. It certainly makes me appreciate them more.

We've sort of been in survival mode during this gray, rainy winter of sickness. But this is one of the first nice weekends coming up, and I feel like we're starting to get into "hope" mode. That's a better place to be! I'm in hope mode because I am really looking forward to some of my planned trips (God willing), and the rest of the family is really looking forward to Waynesboro (and to speaking English again, if you're Griffin!). I know my family back home is really looking forward to our return. Thank goodness they are!

Work at USAREUR has been fabulous, and I'm really enjoying my current project, but I'm also looking forward to going back to acquisition work. It's interesting in it's own way.

I don't think it's too early to look back, and I can honestly say that I'd do it all over again if I knew then what I know now. It has been a really great experience. Very, very challenging sometimes. Yet certainly worth it.

Yesterday we took a little day trip to a town called Cochem. Very cute. We visited a little mustard museum (really a store) and had some delicious mustard and wurstchen. Then we walked up to the castle there, although we didn't take the tour since Lilly was just not in the mood. It was a great walk and worth the trip, though. The views of the town and the river were great.

My sister and Madrid

I'm so happy that I got to see my sister last weekend. Every time I am with her, I am always lifted up. We had our differences when we were younger, but every minute of those differences was worth it to get us to our relationship today. I love you, Michelle!

The trip was so enjoyable. I couldn't beat the airfare (~€80 roundtrip), and I was able to stay with Michelle since she had a relatively big room. That was nice because it gave us more time together! I also got to meet some great young people and a lovely pianist from China who is now studying in the U.S. That was so much fun.

Madrid was good. It was very sunny. I walked a lot, and got to see many sights in my 2.5 days there. With Michelle's help, I fairly easily figured out the metro, which is definitely the way to travel. It was nice to see Madrid because they definitely decorate differently than the Germans do. And Michelle's tour guide, Bill, gave me an excellent recommendation for a museum (Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum) to visit after they left for Toledo. Not only was it free the day I went, but you could also take pictures and their collection was very diverse. I'm so glad I went! I got to see a lot of art, between Museo Nacional del Prado, the Thyssen Museum, and the various exhibitions we ran into here and there. It was easy to enjoy that art since the kids weren't with me!

Thank you, Michelle, for letting me join you for a weekend! And thank you, David, for taking care of everything while I was away!

I took a picture of a lamp post.

Inside Palacio Real

Extremely ornate

Shh! Random art exhibition

Sangria and chorizo!  The sangria was very sweet

These pork pieces were hanging up everywhere

Cervantes monument with Don Quixote. I'm happy the man is in the bottom right hand corner for scale. I liked seeing the modern construction and advertising behind the monument, too.

A small park on a random walk. They were everywhere.

At Plaza Mayor. I paid over one Euro for this selfie, but he was "trying to get back to his homeland" (Bulgaria), so it was totally worth it to help him out. Honestly, he was a cutie.

At Plaza Mayor. The decorated facade is entirely different from the facades in Germany. I enjoyed seeing the difference.

Also at Plaza Mayor

From the Thyssen Museum. I loved this painting by Clouet.

It was a little weird, though, considering she is naked in between her mom (??) and her suitor (??)

Walking around Madrid. This is a good depiction of how the city looks.

The Bear and the Strawberry Tree, from the Madrid Coat of Arms.